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SWA MDW Meltdown

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I live downwind of the great lakes..ON the shore line, and I had to laugh at this:

"...unending snowstorm that dumped as much as 10 inches to a foot of snow in some areas around Chicago over three days..."
 
What a joke. If memory serves correct someone at JetBlue lost their job over a winter storm meltdown.
 
Jetjockey said:
Not a SWA hater but this brings back memories of another MDW meltdown experienced a few years ago.......back when ATA haunted that postage stamp of an airport.

http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/...west-airlines-faced-its-worst-nightmares.html

Happy not to be based there anymore.
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At what point would SWA dispatchers divert or actually cancel flights inbound to MDY when there are 31 airplanes waiting for gates????? If the facts are as they are written in the story, then indeed SWA does deserve a fine for poor operational control.
 
I hope that several people get fired for this crap show! We are still dealing with it today...but hell...we are on our way to legacy status so GK will give out some bonuses.
 
Bobby Orr 4 said:
What a joke. If memory serves correct someone at JetBlue lost their job over a winter storm meltdown.
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There is ZERO accountability at SWA these days. It's just the tip of the iceberg in my opinion. This wasn't even a real storm. Ground ops staffing has been a problem for several years now. I doubt much will change until we see significant revenue declines. CEO Gary Kelly will never replace COO Mike Van de Ven despite his obvious failures. It is what it is. This happens to all companies. SWA has had a good run....it was bound to end sooner or later.
 
Full of LUV said:
At what point would SWA dispatchers divert or actually cancel flights inbound to MDY when there are 31 airplanes waiting for gates????? If the facts are as they are written in the story, then indeed SWA does deserve a fine for poor operational control.
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Probably never since it's doubtful that SWA is planning on flying to MIDWAY ATOLL in the near (or distant) future.

Regards,
Fr8doggie
 
Wow. That's terrible. I doubt WN will pay anything in fines. They have the DOT in their back pocket. Must be the pizza parties.
 
The butt crack stain of "legacy" is permeating SWA. King gary is clueless and prince vdv is picking the lint out of his belly button..... dumb. And dumber should be their halloween costumes next year. They have it mastered.
 
Daddy said:
CEO Gary Kelly will never replace COO Mike Van de Ven despite his obvious failures.
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I'm glad that people are starting to realize that he's the problem. But frankly, Gary isn't much better. Both need to be replaced.
 
PCL_128 said:
I'm glad that people are starting to realize that he's the problem. But frankly, Gary isn't much better. Both need to be replaced.
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PCL, it doesn't matter as they come as a package. They were college roomies. Van de Ven has been a known problem here for years. You would be hard pressed to find someone to say something good about him. Unfortunately, we will not be free from either of them until we hit some real financial hardship which won't happen for awhile with the favorable conditions the entire sector is currently enjoying. My hope is that we can hire some outside help to prevent a disaster with our international ops...this company is pretty clueless in that arena.
 
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I don't know, I'm thinking the shareholders (especially the institutional ones) are going to start screaming pretty loudly as they continue to watch billion dollar profits roll in every quarter at the legacies while Gary and VdV barely manage to squeak out a couple hundred million here and there. Their days may be numbered.
 
Dude, I wish but look at the share price....and this after spending the last decade in the toilet. It won't last forever though....you're right about that. This latest is only one in a long stream of pretty big screw ups.
 
MDW airport has always been a 5lb bag and the airlines try to shovel in 10 lbs of crap. There just is no physical place o hold airplanes on ramps, etc. I have seen damn near grid lock there. Add in weather and de-icing= nightmare.
 
Daddy said:
There is ZERO accountability at SWA these days. It's just the tip of the iceberg in my opinion. This wasn't even a real storm. Ground ops staffing has been a problem for several years now. I doubt much will change until we see significant revenue declines. CEO Gary Kelly will never replace COO Mike Van de Ven despite his obvious failures. It is what it is. This happens to all companies. SWA has had a good run....it was bound to end sooner or later.
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Not that I disagree with you but Who do you think is going to replace these guys. Every airline CEO has embraced BK, Codeshare and furlough and these are the guys you want to run SWA?

The last couple of days were a disaster but be careful what you (we) wish for, unless it is to make sure that PCL 128 never has a chance to sit in SWA cockpit, then wish away.
 
Patience, people. Patience. Get through this-
 
In BWI was told the ramp crew "timed out" had to wait 45 min. For another crew to load bags. How does a ramper time out? This after waiting 30min past scheduled arrival time for a gate.
 
I was told the same thing in BWI that the ramp is timed out. I then told then that in 20 minutes we time out and you'll be stuck with a 140 people and a plane at a gate when you've got 10 waiting for one...MAGICALLY 3 appeared out of the break room. I know it's cold and it sucks...but you agreed to work outside! I worked the ramp for delta for 3 years in Boston for Delta...I dealt with it...now the staffing issue falls on managements shoulders and someone needs to be held accountable. Another "thanks for your hard work during a bad week" email isn't good enough.
 
Everybody likes to ride the sled downhill. Only till it hits the bottom of the hill will someone get off to pull it back up the hill. I guess we are still going down the hill at this point. Wee!!!
 
Are the rampers in contract negotiations? How far past an amenable date can you push people before they start getting really pissed?
 
Noserider76 said:
Are the rampers in contract negotiations? How far past an amenable date can you push people before they start getting really pissed?
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Every employee group at SWA except the Dispatchers are in contract negotiations, and most groups are at least 1-2 years past the amendable date.
 
Saluki Dawg said:
Every employee group at SWA except the Dispatchers are in contract negotiations, and most groups are at least 1-2 years past the amendable date.
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I hope for your sakes it changes. Hate to see bean counters ruin a great company. I think Herb said "take care of your employees and they'll take care of your customers".
 
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